Chapter 7

Heels clicking softly against concrete.

Damon’s heart stopped.

“Hello, sweetheart.”

The voice was warm.

Familiar.

Impossible.

Damon’s mother stood there.

Evelyn Moreau

Alive.

Smiling.

Wearing the same navy dress she’d died in.

The same pearl earrings.

The same gentle expression.

Damon’s knees nearly gave out.

Luca stepped in front of him immediately, weapon raised.

“Stay back.”

Evelyn tilted her head.

“Oh, Luca. Still protective.”

Damon’s mind fractured again.

This wasn’t a vision.

The elevator doors were open.

The air moved.

The woman breathed.

“Mom?” Damon whispered.

She smiled wider.

“I knew you’d survive.”

Damon stepped around Luca.

“No,” Luca warned.

But Damon couldn’t stop.

He took one step closer.

Then another but she just vanished was it a dream or hallucination.

Morning light poured through the floor-to-ceiling windows of Moreau Innovations, casting long silver lines across the polished marble floor. From the top floor of the building, the city stretched endlessly beneath the glass like a living organism cars streaming through the streets, people moving in tiny clusters far below.

Damon Moreau barely noticed any of it.

He stood at the head of the boardroom table, one hand braced against the smooth black surface, the other curled tightly around a glass of untouched coffee. His reflection stared back at him in the glossy tabletop sharp suit, perfectly arranged dark curls, gray-green eyes that looked far more tired than he allowed anyone to see.

Behind him, the heavy doors opened with a quiet click.

Damon didn’t need to turn to know who it was.

“Security sweep complete,” Luca said calmly.

His voice was low, controlled, the same way it always was.

Damon finally glanced over his shoulder.

Luca stood near the door in a dark suit that fit his tall frame like armor. Most people mistook him for another corporate professional at first glance, but there was something different about him. Something watchful. Dangerous.

The thin scar along his jaw caught the light.

“Anything?” Damon asked.

“Nothing immediate.” Luca’s sharp gray eyes moved across the room instinctively, mapping exits, corners, threats. “But there’s more surveillance around the building than usual.”

Damon frowned slightly.

“Press?”

“Unmarked vehicles,” Luca said. “Not press.”

A cold thread of unease slid through Damon’s chest.

Before he could respond, the boardroom doors opened again.

Voices filled the room as members of the board filed inside executives, investors, legal advisors. Men and women who helped control billions of dollars and the future of one of the most powerful tech companies in the world.

They greeted Damon politely.

But something about the atmosphere felt… different.

Quieter.

Tighter.

Like a room holding its breath.

Luca noticed it too. Damon could tell from the way his shoulders subtly shifted, the way his gaze sharpened.

Then another familiar voice broke the tension.

“Damon.”

Damon turned as Matteo Laurent stepped into the room.

Matteo carried himself with effortless charm, his tailored suit immaculate, dark blond hair perfectly styled. His smile was warm, reassuring the expression of a man everyone trusted.

And for years, Damon had trusted him more than anyone.

Matteo clasped Damon’s shoulder in greeting.

“You look like you haven’t slept,” he said lightly.

Damon exhaled.

“I haven’t.”

Matteo’s expression softened slightly.

“Still thinking about the investigation into your mother’s death?”

Damon’s jaw tightened.

The mention of Evelyn Moreau still felt like pressing on an open wound.

“Every day,” he said quietly.

Matteo squeezed his shoulder sympathetically.

“We’ll find the people responsible.”

Luca stood silently across the room, watching the exchange.

His expression never changed.

But something in his posture stiffened.

The board meeting began minutes later.

Damon took his seat at the head of the table as screens along the walls lit up with financial projections and quarterly reports.

Normally these meetings ran smoothly. Damon commanded the room with precision and intelligence. Investors respected him.

Today felt different.

A gray-haired board member cleared his throat.

“Before we move to the quarterly projections,” he said carefully, “there are… concerns that need addressing.”

Damon leaned back slightly.

“What kind of concerns?”

The man exchanged a look with another executive.

“Public perception,” the second man said.

Damon’s eyes narrowed.

“Be specific.”

Another screen flickered to life.

A headline appeared.

MOREAU INNOVATIONS SECURITY FAILURE — BILLIONAIRE CEO TARGETED

Damon felt the room shift.

“That story ran across three networks last night,” the executive continued. “Investors are nervous.”

“It was an assassination attempt,” Damon said evenly. “The threat has been contained.”

“Has it?” another voice asked.

The question carried a sharper tone.

Damon’s gaze moved slowly across the table.

“Are you implying my company is unstable?”

“No,” the gray-haired board member said quickly. “But your mother’s death… the ongoing investigation… increased security costs… shareholders are asking questions.”

A murmur moved through the room.

Damon’s fingers tightened slightly against the table.

He could feel Luca watching from the far wall.

Watching everything.

Then Matteo leaned forward.

“Let’s not forget Damon is the reason this company exists,” he said calmly. “He built it after Lucius’s death when most people expected it to collapse.”

His voice carried quiet authority.

Several board members nodded.

Matteo looked at Damon with reassuring confidence.

“We stand behind our CEO.”

Damon inclined his head slightly in gratitude.

But something about the moment felt… staged.

Almost rehearsed.

The meeting continued, but the tension never left the room.

Financial projections.

Expansion plans.

Security costs.

Every discussion seemed to circle back to the same quiet doubt.

Leadership.

Stability.

Trust.

And each time the conversation edged toward criticism, Matteo smoothly redirected it defending Damon with calm logic.

By the end of the meeting, Damon should have felt relieved.

Instead he felt unsettled.

The board members filed out slowly.

Conversations continued in low voices.

Luca moved closer the moment the room cleared.

“You noticed it,” he said.

Damon looked at him.

“Yes.”

“They were testing you.”

Damon rubbed his temple.

“No,” he murmured slowly.

“They were testing confidence.”

Luca’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“Someone planted the idea.”

Damon didn’t answer immediately.

Because he had already reached the same conclusion.

Across the room, Matteo finished speaking with two executives and approached them.

“There you are,” he said with a friendly smile.

“Rough meeting,” Damon replied.

Matteo shrugged slightly.

“Investors panic easily.”

Luca watched him carefully.

Matteo turned toward Damon again.

“Listen,” he said quietly. “There’s something else you should know.”

Damon’s attention sharpened.

“What?”

Matteo hesitated just enough to make the moment feel serious.

“I’ve heard rumors,” he said.

“About what?”

Matteo lowered his voice.

“Someone leaking internal company information.”

The words hit like a sudden chill.

Damon straightened.

“That’s impossible.”

“Is it?” Matteo asked gently.

“Our security systems are some of the most advanced in the industry.”

Luca finally spoke.

“Advanced systems can still be bypassed.”

Matteo studied him briefly.

“True.”

Then he looked back at Damon.

“If investors think confidential information is leaving the company… it could cause serious damage.”

Damon’s mind raced.

His company’s data included defense contracts, AI research, global infrastructure technology.

A leak could destroy everything.

“Do you know where the breach came from?” Damon asked.

Matteo shook his head.

“Not yet.”

Luca stepped closer to Damon slightly.

“I want access to your internal security logs.”

Matteo’s eyebrow lifted faintly.

“Your bodyguard investigates cyber security now?”

Luca didn’t react.

“I investigate threats,” he said.

The room fell quiet for a second.

Then Matteo smiled again.

“Fair enough.”

He checked his watch.

“I have another meeting downtown,” he said. “But Damon call me if you find anything. We’ll handle it together.”

Damon nodded.

Matteo gave his shoulder another friendly squeeze before leaving.

The door closed behind him.

Silence settled over the room again.

Luca walked toward the large screen at the far wall.

“Something’s wrong,” he said quietly.

Damon crossed his arms.

“You think Matteo is right?”

“No.”

Luca turned toward him.

“I think he’s too right.”

Damon frowned.

“What does that mean?”

“It means he already knew about the leak before the meeting.”

Damon’s stomach tightened.

“That’s speculation.”

Luca didn’t argue.

Instead he pulled out his phone and connected it to the room’s security system.

Lines of encrypted data flashed across the screen.

Access logs.

Security clearances.

Digital entries into protected files.

Damon watched in silence.

Minutes passed.

Then Luca’s fingers froze.

His expression changed.

“What is it?” Damon asked.

Luca didn’t answer immediately.

He slowly turned the screen toward Damon.

One file had been accessed repeatedly over the last two weeks.

A classified company archive.

Evelyn Moreau’s investigation records.

Damon’s breath caught.

“My mother’s files?”

Luca nodded slowly.

“Someone’s been reading them.”

“Who?”

Luca scrolled lower.

The security log revealed the final user authorization.

Damon leaned closer to the screen.

His stomach dropped.

“That’s impossible.”

Luca’s voice turned cold.

“Nothing about this situation is impossible.”

Damon stared at the name again.

Someone inside the company had been secretly accessing Evelyn Moreau’s investigation files.

Someone with full executive clearance.

Someone Damon trusted with his life.

Before he could say the name out loud

The lights died.

The screens went black.

Emergency alarms erupted across the building.

Footsteps thundered in the hallway.

Luca grabbed Damon and pushed him toward the wall.

“Get down.”

Gunshots exploded some

where below them.

Damon’s pulse pounded in his ears.

“What’s happening?”

Luca’s gaze moved toward the dark doorway.

When he spoke, his voice was quiet and deadly.

“I think,” he said slowly, “someone just decided to finish the job.”